Swap vs. Turbo vs. Nitrous?
 

Okay,

I'm making my Honda faster... Look for "*************************" for actual post and not my bitching.

I originally bought my Honda Civic cause it was known to be reliable and it's a rather attractive vehicle (considerin some of the crap GM is putting out).

Until reading on the internet about cars and running into nasty comments about our Hondas has made me realise how many ****ing bitched are actually out there. "No matter who wins, you're still a retard", "My lugs require more torque then your Honda produces", "My bottle of Mountain Dew is 2.0L and your civic is 1.7!!". This stuff is just rude, and they usually have a crappy car themselves...

At first I didn't care what these bitches said cause my little Civic DX with a bigger exhaust track and an intake can beat an American Ford Probe and Focus' and Sunfires and Cavaliers. Don't get me wrong, I didn't say I had an SI, and I didn't say I beat GT's. Most of these ****ers are just talking shit because they've never seen the other side of the rainbow. I'm also the proud owner of a 98 Grand Prix GTP, and it is by all means a power house with a cool "performance shift" supercharger button. But this wonderful monster is a) killer on gas b) has a crappy interior and exterior (and this means pieces break or fall off for no reason - imagine washing your car on a sunny day with pride in your heart only to find the cover to your headlight it missing, it's just gone! Imagine rolling down your window half way to toss a smoke on the coldest day of the winter, on a highway only to be confronted with that window not wanting to go back up cause some motor broke inside - the funny thing about this broken window, is that although it wouldn't go back up, it would continue to go down!! ETC ETC ETC c) This brings me to the third point, EXPENSIVE to maintain. d) to add to the costs, the damn rotors kept warping cause the breaking system was flawed on my model. This meant every 4 months, I had to dish out $400 of my hard earned money.

Anyways, people know that the GP is a fast car, but people insult and would never expect a civic to blow past them... I want that element of surprise at a good price. I would honestly rather a civic that can keep up with a Mustang GT then a regular mustang with some sort of a balancing kit.

BACK TO MY CIVIC, which is a vehicle I proudly own because it's been ever so reliable for over two years now!

I would like to make it faster, make it a semi-sleeper (no body kit, just clean and simple mods).

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There is so much out there about how nitrous is the way to go, but I thought this could prematurely damage your engine, not to mention, Honda won't warranty it.
HERE ARE MY QUESTIONS about these three options: Turbo? Japanese Type-R Swap? K20 Swap? Nitrous.


1. What's better? What will give me the most performance? Can you explain?
2. What are the costs to do a good job for each?
3. Which is safer in terms of long run monetary costs? (Considering repairs, breaking, anything...)
4. Which is honestly the best setup??!

Please don't suggest a K20 swap and a turbo setup. I do not have this kind of cash. But I can definitely manage one of the three options.

HOPEFULLY SOMEONE WHO KNOWS WILL BE KIND ENOUGH TO REALLY TEACH ME ON THESE THREE TOPICS. CAUSE I'M GONA DO ONE OF THESE NO MATTER WHAT, AND I DON'T REALLY TRUST THE LOCAL SHOP, THEY MAKE ME UNEASY WITH THEIR SUGGESTIONS.


Thanks!

Well, i have never used nitrous on my car so i would know about that. But boostedciviczex assured me that the 4 psi of boost he was running was more power than his 55 shot from a zex kit.

I have a 2001 EX at my shop right now with an RSX-S motor in it, and i can safely say that my 2002 lx on 5.5 psi would run circles around it (sorry justin, but look at my whp numbers! :D ) Now we are turboing that K20 beast, and i will be faster than hell. But if you are looking to save some $$$, i would say just turbo your car and be done with it. IF you have an extra $700 to spare, send your head to DH-racing for Dave's portwork. That will yield you yet another large gain on top of the turbo.

The turbo has not put much or any pre-mature wear on my motor. The oil still comes out like new at 3,000 miles, and the car runs beautifully.

I just wanted to say that this is a very good question that i have also been thinkin of opening up to discussion

Ok cool. I'd still like to hear other peoples ideas or successes.

How long does the turbo (de)install take? I ask this question to know how difficult it would be to remove the damn thing in the event that the car needs to go in for some major engine repair. Honda will kick me in the ass if I have this type of mod.

MAN..... Don't push the knife in to deep! :_doh: :_doh: :_doh:

I helped my friend (Madwheel) install his turbo kit. it probably took us about 15 hours in total. was relativly easy except for getting the oilpan off and owning a turbo eclipse myself i would definatly safe turbo is the most effcient and safest way of increasing power.

I am selling my nitrous kit $475.00 shipped.
http://www.7thgencivic.com/forums/sh...hreadid=134577

best bang for the buck and I have done no dammage.
Look at my gallery for my install pics. You can installl it in about 4 hours by yourself if you know how to use a drill, socket wrench and some common sense.

http://www.7thgencivic.com/forums/sh...hreadid=134577

Friend of mine has an RSX with a CAI/Exhaust/Hondata Gasket. Making a little over 180WHP.

My car on a 75 shot (WITHOUT TUNING) 185whp.

IMO, if money were no object, I would go w/k24 boost.

N2O is great...instant power (no lag as on a turbo). But at at least $20.00 a fill it can get expensive. Not to mention if you plan on going higher than a 75, you will need to drop in more money into the D17.

Boost is always there. No fillin bottles. But if you wanna boost more than 10-13psi...you're gonna have to make some modifications. Fuel management being one of them.

IMO....I've always been a firm believer in " the more HP you start out with....the more you'll end up with".

So I guess That's my take on this. N2O is great. Boost is awesome. But starting out w/a platform that will yield higher numbers (on n2o OR boost) in the end is ideal. Either way you look at it, chances are you'll be adding some kind of forced induction in the end. It's what motor you choose to start with that will determine how much power your gonna make in the long run.

I agree, but higher HP numbers don't always mean faster i know make more power than my friends turbo civic but his car is still faster than mine. so it really just depends on how fast you wanna go personally

The only way higher HP and torque wouldnt mean faster is if the other car is alot lighter. Or if the other car has a much better driver. It also depends where he's making more power, and how long your races are (i.e. top end or short 1/4 mile length). THere's alot of factors that go into it, but the #'s do stand for something, that's why they're there.

Yeah your right in that aspect the numbers aren't insignifigant, i am just saying numbers aren't everything and that other factors do matter when its comes to "how fast you car is"

Since you did say that you wanted to do this one big mod and probably nothing else I would go with the SF turbo. It is going to be the fastest out of the 3 and cost about the same to a little less than the K20 swap. I personally have nitrous, and it is very fun, but I too am wanting to purchase the turbo kit for myself now and call it quits. If you end up going K20 it is a very awesome thing cause you have a swapped car, but the SF kit is still faster and you will have to put somemore money into the K20 to be where you want. And with the SF kit you can brag because it is the same small 1.7L motor that is making them all look stupid. Just my two cents.

i used to be all for the k20 swap over the turbo. but that i could sell my civic and buy a faster car for less than the 8g's it will take total to complete a swap.....i would say turbo

Its more fun to say you have a highly modded engine, than the stock engine of another car under your hood too.

i prefer str8 up kickin ass. :) No one has to know what's under the hood.

I hear that kickin ass is definatly they way to go! doesn't matter what's under the hood as long as you are winning.

Okay, I'm almost convinced to get the turbo setup...

Can those of you who are so blessed as to have either a swap, turbo or nitrous; could you please list your 1/4 mile times as well as any extra or removed equiment from your car (i.e. Subwoofers, carbon-f hood, etc...)??

thanks.

I did a 14.5 on the nitrous. With a shitty ass 60 foot time....2.3 or 2.2 to be exact....good for low 14's with the right launch.

ANd yes....DRGKAINZ22.....kickin ass, well it just plain kicks ass. LoL

Best time with swap at sea level in Mississippi was 14.2. No engine mods except SRI / exhuast.

Anotherslo1, if you don't mind me asking, who did your swap and how much was it? Your car looks great man.